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Stolen merchandise returned in surprising way

Published: Friday, February 7, 2014 at 11:05 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 7, 2014 at 11:05 a.m.

Merchandise stolen from a retailer Thursday afternoon was recovered in a surprising way and an employee suffered minor injuries when, she told police, four shoplifting suspects tried to run her over.

On Thursday afternoon, the Ocala Police Department was called about a theft at Best Buy at 2499 SW 27th Ave., Ocala. An employee told Officer Sean Young that she was working in the cellphone/computer tablet area when she saw four women come in. They separated and began walking around her area and she alerted another employee and went to one of the women to offer assistance, the case report states.

The employee said that while she was speaking to one of the women she saw another member of the group take scissors from her shirt and cut a cellphone from a display case. She said the four women began walking quickly toward the front door and she yelled at another employee to stop them. She said the women went outside and ran toward a newer model silver vehicle, according to the report.

The employee said she was trying to snap a photo of the vehicle license plate when the driver of the Chevy Impala put it in reverse and struck her. She said she was trying to move out of the way when she was struck a second time and fell on the hood. One of the women got out of the car and yanked her off the hood, which caused her bracelet to dig into her wrist, scratching her skin, the report states.

A store loss prevention officer told Young that he got into his vehicle and followed the Chevy, which appeared to be a rental. He said the car sped north through the parking lot and he followed it to State Road 200 and Interstate 75, where it stopped at a red light in the lane to enter the interstate.

The man said he got out of his vehicle and walked up to the car and yelled at the women to return the merchandise. He said windows on the driver's side and passenger's side were lowered and two DVDs and two Samsung Galaxy III phones were dropped on the ground.

He picked up the four items, which were valued at $812.97, as the Chevy drove away.

When contacted Friday for follow-up, a store manager declined to comment.

Anyone with information can call OPD at 369-7000, the Crime Line at 369-7061 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP, or visit www.ocalacrimestoppers.com. Tips can be sent via the MyPD app or by texting 274637 using the keyword 368STOP.

<p>Merchandise stolen from a retailer Thursday afternoon was recovered in a surprising way and an employee suffered minor injuries when, she told police, four shoplifting suspects tried to run her over.</p><p>On Thursday afternoon, the Ocala Police Department was called about a theft at Best Buy at 2499 SW 27th Ave., Ocala. An employee told Officer Sean Young that she was working in the cellphone/computer tablet area when she saw four women come in. They separated and began walking around her area and she alerted another employee and went to one of the women to offer assistance, the case report states.</p><p>The employee said that while she was speaking to one of the women she saw another member of the group take scissors from her shirt and cut a cellphone from a display case. She said the four women began walking quickly toward the front door and she yelled at another employee to stop them. She said the women went outside and ran toward a newer model silver vehicle, according to the report.</p><p>The employee said she was trying to snap a photo of the vehicle license plate when the driver of the Chevy Impala put it in reverse and struck her. She said she was trying to move out of the way when she was struck a second time and fell on the hood. One of the women got out of the car and yanked her off the hood, which caused her bracelet to dig into her wrist, scratching her skin, the report states.</p><p>A store loss prevention officer told Young that he got into his vehicle and followed the Chevy, which appeared to be a rental. He said the car sped north through the parking lot and he followed it to State Road 200 and Interstate 75, where it stopped at a red light in the lane to enter the interstate.</p><p>The man said he got out of his vehicle and walked up to the car and yelled at the women to return the merchandise. He said windows on the driver's side and passenger's side were lowered and two DVDs and two Samsung Galaxy III phones were dropped on the ground.</p><p>He picked up the four items, which were valued at $812.97, as the Chevy drove away.</p><p>When contacted Friday for follow-up, a store manager declined to comment.</p><p>Anyone with information can call OPD at 369-7000, the Crime Line at 369-7061 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP, or visit www.ocalacrimestoppers.com. Tips can be sent via the MyPD app or by texting 274637 using the keyword 368STOP.</p><p><i>Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118 or austin.miller@starbanner.com.</i></p>